The Atchison County Commission met Thursday, October 6, 2022,. Present were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
The commission reviewed the final revision to the Employee Handbook. The commissioners voted to approve and adopt the newly revised Employee Handbook. Deputy Clerk Deanna Beck will make sure that all employees receive the updated copy.
Melissa Massar, Project Manager with Great River Engineering, called in via conference line to answer some questions about the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program Grant. Road and Bridge Supervisor Kamron Woodring was present for the call. The Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments is writing a Deficient Bridge Replacement Project planning grant for the engineering of seven bridges in Atchison County. Atchison County will be responsible for 20% of the total project cost which would be approximately $54,000 if all bridges were awarded. Following the discussion with Ms. Massar, the commissioners voted to sign a letter of commitment of match funds for the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Discretionary Grant Program and use funds from Atchison County’s ARPA infrastructure allocation. If approved this will allow the bridges to be engineered and ready for the next phase of grant funding.
Clerk Taylor presented the Annual Request of Allocation for the County Employee Retirement Fund. Currently the employee pays the 4% mandatory allocation. The commissioners voted to continue with the employee making the 4% allocation for 2023.
Prosecuting Attorney Dan Smith was in to visit with the commission.
Atchison County was notified by David Earls, Sr., Transportation Planner with MoDOT, that the Regional Bridge Committee met on August 24, 2022. During that meeting three Atchison County bridges were selected to be part of the regional bridge program and added to the local bridge improvement plan.
The committee elected to initially award all bridges at an 11% local share. This provides some contribution from the BRO and the new BFP (Bridge Formula Program) federal allocations. The county’s local share may come from ARPA funding, soft match credit, local cash or CDBG funding. Bridges awarded were #394008 250th Street, Tarkio River; #2320008 225th Street, Cow Branch; and #4210000 285th Street, Sharp Road, Rock Creek drainage ditch.
––
The Atchison County Commission met Tuesday, October 11, 2022. Present were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
Monthly department reports were reviewed and approved.
The commission met with all the elected officials and employees to discuss a new telephone system upgrade in the courthouse. A recent notification from Rock Port Telephone said that the current system is outdated, and upgrades are difficult to find for replacement. Clerk Taylor had Rock Port Telephone do an assessment of all the offices and needed equipment. Joe Matzinger with Midwest Data Center was present to discuss the new Voice Over IP system. Elected officials and employees had the opportunity to ask questions regarding the upgrade and how it would work. Mr. Matzinger said with approval they would be able to begin the installation as soon as the needed equipment was received.
Clerk Taylor then notified the group to watch for upcoming training opportunities due to there being several new employees in the building.
The commission signed the voting delegation form for the annual Missouri Association of Counties Conference. Voting delegates for 2022 will be: Curtis Livengood, Susette Taylor, Jim Quimby, Richard Burke, Debbie True, and Eliza Beasing.
